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Instructor Bio - 2017

Candace Eck

Candace has been making jewelry since high school, when she made a ring out of a broken bangle bracelet and she hasn't looked back! In college, her principle instructor in silversmithing was Marjorie Schick, who is a nationally known artist. At that time, in addition to learning all the traditional methods, Candace experimented with found objects and vintage pieces into her wire jewelry. Having been in several art shows, she recently won an award for a necklace that included (a found object) an arm from a doll. She loves ammonites and uses them frequently in her jewelry along with using pearls with wire. She has taught jewelry making and basic silversmithing at Beaddazzled in Wichita for several years. Candace prefers to teach techniques so students can create their own designs with as much assistance from her as is needed, or the project can be completed as shown.

Adele KimpellAdele has been involved in creative endeavors, from knitting to quilting to tatting to macramé, since the age of 13. Introduced to off-loom bead weaving in 1994 by an 18 yr. old girl, who was a friend of her son, she was intrigued and soon discovered Diane Fitzgerald and Beautiful Bead in downtown Minneapolis. she signed up for several of Diane's classes in the mid 90's and Diane's knowledge, enthusiasm, encouragement and teaching style awakened a passion. Adele has been intrigued with the endless possibilities offered by the vast variety of bead colors, shapes, sizes, and types and has found her niche in designing with seed beads and off-loom weaving.Adele is primarily a self-taught bead weaver with an education in nursing. She is exceptionally knowledgeable in all bead weaving techniques and is especially fond of diagonal peyote, Ndebele (herringbone) and right angle weave. Adele's design philosophy is to design for the novice to intermediate bead artist but to incorporate elements that appeal to the advanced bead artist and to keep the time to finish a project between three to ten hours.A desire to share her love of beads and the knowledge she has gained while developing her own skills led her to begin teaching private classes in the fall of 2001 then progressed to teaching at bead shops, bead societies and guilds, and bead shows at a national level to inspire the artistic spirit in others. Adele finds great satisfaction in passing on her knowledge and skills to give her students solid techniques and how each person embraces a project and makes it his/her own.When she is not teaching, she is busy with experimenting with technique, authoring patterns, adding to her bead stash and designing new pieces. Adele is the founder of and a partner in Bead Dreamers.Adele teaches at Birdstone Bead Gallery in Excelsior, MN and has taught at the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, WI; Bead Monkey in Minneapolis, MN and St. Paul, MN; the Nordic Gypsy in Rochester, MN; the Great Lakes Beadworker's Guild in Southfield, MI; Beadculture in Jackson, MI; Craft Essentials in Santa Barbara, CA; the Kansas City Bead Blast in Kansas City, KS; Bead Fest in Philadelphia, PA; The Whole Bead Show in Tuscon, AZ; Twin Cities Bead Bazaar in Minneapolis, MN; and the Art Glass and Bead Show in Madison, WI. Adele is a member of the Upper Midwest Bead Society (UMBS) in Minneapolis and has been a presenter at UMBS on the subject of "Documenting Your Designs - Authoring and Illustrating a Pattern".E-mail: adele.kimpell@gmail.com or beaddreamers@gmail.comWebsite: www.beaddreamers.net

Teresa Medlock

Teresa has been involved with various arts and crafts since childhood. It wasn't until she started bead weaving that she found her passion. Bead weaving sparks her creativity. Teresa enjoys sharing her love of beading and started teaching her designs at a local bead store in Maryland during 2013. Since then she has retired and moved to Kansas where she has more time to devote to creating designs and teaching. She continues to teach her designs at local bead stores and bead societies where she is known for her patience and her love of teaching. Teresa’s tips and tricks are an integral part of all her classes.E-mail: beadyfunaddict@aol.com

Sherri Stokey

Sherri Stokey is an admitted jewelry junky with a slightly obsessive personality, not to mention a bit of a perfectionist. Both can be great qualities in a micro macrame artist! She’s married and has two grown children and one adorable grandson. Sherri creates jewelry pieces using macramé techniques, knotting small cords, seed beads and other decorative embellishments. into wearable pieces of art. She first tried macramé back in the 1970s when plant hangers and owls were all the rage, then picked it up again about 8 years ago and hasn't stopped since. After learning some of the basic knots, she began creating her own patterns as well as tutorials.With a history of exploring arts and crafts going all the way back to her childhood when she "helped" in her grandmother's ceramic shop, Sherri has a varied background. She has tried her hand at many different mediums including cross-stitch, cake decorating, candle making and stained glass. She’s self-taught and has branched out into other areas of jewelry making like bead embroidery and bead weaving, but macramé knotting is her hands-down favorite.E-mail: Sherri.Stokey@ymail.comWebsite: KnotJustMacrame.comPhone: 308-530-1271

Robin Young and Tanya Goodwin

Robin has been beading since she was 10. She taught herself a modified daisy stitch back when there were no books, magazines or classes. Since then she has had a passion for beads and beading. Robin started making fish out of polymer clay over ten years ago. They symbolized the many catch and release trophy fish caught on family fishing trips with her husband and their two kids. Robin has been incorporating her self taught free form bead work in her polymer clay designs for years.

Tanya has been beading for over 10 years and enjoys learning and teaching new techniques. She has participated in many bead soup exchanges and has had a project published in Bead Me magazine, an interactive digital publication.E-mail: goodwin.tanya@gmail.com

Sylvia Tanner

Sylvia credits her mother with encouraging her to be creative. Sylvia’s rich
life has included travel. She married a
soldier and lived in Germany before putting down roots in
Oklahoma. She followed her husband and the job market to Kansas City.

Sylvia worked
with many mediums to create art: paint, concrete, paper mache’, fabrics, wood,
stone, ceramics, food and plants. The
Society for Creative Anachronisms (SCA) taught her how to research medieval art. Sylvia didn’t get back to those wonderful
glass beads until long after her Army enlistment. She tinkered with cheap beads and simple
jewelry until a friend urged her to check out the Bead Society of Greater
Kansas City in 1999. Timidly showing off
her first polymer clay beads, she was soon involved with the Bead Society. Sylvia had found a comfortable “home” for her
artistic ability. The club offered
challenging, affordable classes and friends who were willing to teach the
latest techniques. Current schedules are
on their website www.kcbeadsociety.org

Sylvia tried
many beady projects, and found she loved bead weaving with tiny seed beads the
best. Sylvia has enjoyed teaching basic
beading techniques at Bead Society meetings, Bead Blast, War of the Lillies (an
annual SCA event) and at bead stores.
She has a reputation for being a good instructor who is available for
assistance to her students even after the class is completed. Three Trails Trading Post, 11022 E Winner
Road, in the Englewood Art District of Independence, hosts the basic bead
weaving classes that Sylvia teaches now, and has a sizable display of Sylvia’s
art, including some interesting strung pieces.
She may be reached through her facebook page,
“Stoned Sylly”.

How is Sylvia
“Stoned Sylly”? One year, she
refurbished a gown for a beauty pageant.
Beads and sequins covered the bodice.
While adding a thousand Swarovski crystals, the complicated task
produced awful glue fumes, which Sylvia learned to control. The owner quipped “Well, you are really Stoned now, Sylly!” Perfect! In eighteen years, lots of therapeutic
beading has been happening. Almost enough to keep Sylvia’s world sane!